Sustainability
Food and drink manufacturers ‘performing strongly’
The food and drink manufacturing sector is still performing strongly, despite uncertainty among companies about the state of the economy, according to a new survey. The business confidence survey of Food and Drink Federation members shows a strong performance in the third quarter of the year – with almost 60% recording increased sales and only […]
Mankind must overcome GM fear, warns chief scientist
Mankind must overcome its fear of GM crops if it’s to survive a global hunger epidemic within the next 40 years, says the government’s chief science adviser. According to Professor Sir John Beddington, issues such as swelling population levels, energy shortages and climate change will force widespread starvation if modern farming techniques aren’t embraced. “If […]
New smart packaging reveals if food is unfit to eat
An intelligent food wrapping that changes colour if the contents are going bad has been created by scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland – and could be in the shops within two years. The smart plastic packaging detects when meat, fish or salad leaves have passed their use-by date or have been left […]
Contaminated liquid egg scare grows
Fourteen tons of contaminated liquid egg that originated on continental Europe has entered the UK, say health chiefs. The EU executive says the processed foodstuff – destined for use in goods like pastries and mayonnaise – has been exported to Britain but says the risk to human health is very low. Public health officials are […]
Food safety, Ingredients, Packaging, Regulatory, Sustainability
Italy bans use of plastic bags
A ban on the use of plastic shopping bags in Italy has come into force after it was revealed that shoppers in the country previously used about 20 billion bags – about one-fifth of the total used in Europe. Retailers, however, have warned that the ban, which came into force on 1 January, could cause […]
Faerch Plast cuts CPET tray weight
Danish food packaging manufacturer Faerch Plast has reduced the weight of its CPET (crystalline polyethylene) containers by an average of 11% since 2008, putting it on track to meet its environmental objective of ‘achieving a general weight reduction of produced items of 30%’ by 2013. “Clever design together with improved production processes has helped us […]
Milestone for world-first recycling label
A world-first on-pack label which lets shoppers know which packaging can be recycled has signed up its 100th company. The milestone triggers the start of a public awareness campaign aimed at slashing the amount of recyclable packaging heading to landfill. Birdseye, Innocent, Henkel, GlaxoSmithKline and WH Smith have joined a string of major brands and […]
Meat and milk from cloned animals ‘unlikely’ to be bigger safety risk than conventional food
Meat and milk from cloned animals is ‘unlikely’ to be a bigger safety risk than conventionally produced food, according to UK government advisers. But the experts have highlighted a serious gap in research on the effects of eating food from cloned animals, and warned that consumers will demand that it is clearly labelled. The Advisory […]
Summit to mark launch of new food qualification
Productivity, sustainability and training will top the agenda at a forthcoming summit to discuss the application of lean manufacturing in the food and drink industry. The Increasing Productivity in the Food and Drink Sector conference is being hosted by Improve and the National Skills Academy in London on 3 December. As well as exploring current […]
Sterile robot cleans up
The new VP-G2 Sterile Robot developed by Denso is now available from UK-based AA Robotics. With a maximum payload of 2kg, the robot has been specially designed for use in cleanrooms where there is a requirement for sterile manufacturing, processing and packaging. Four different models of the VP-G2 robot are available depending upon the environment […]
Food industry on track to meet ‘zero waste to landfill’ target
More than 90% of the food and packaging waste generated at factories operated by members of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is now being recycled or recovered, according to a new survey by the trade association and Defra. The survey shows that companies are on track to achieve their aim of sending no food […]
The future is frozen, says new report
According to the authors of the world’s first frozen food report, such food can ‘strongly contribute towards Defra’s vision of a sustainable, secure and healthy food supply in the UK’. Compiled by researchers at the Centre for Food Innovation (Sheffield Hallam University) and Refrigeration Developments & Testing (Bristol) the British Frozen Food Industry – a […]
Food safety, Ingredients, Packaging, Regulatory, Sustainability
Making a packet out of peelings
Recycled potato peelings could be used to make environmentally friendly crisp packets, according to a UK snack firm. Walkers says it has already developed cellulose crisp bags made from wood pulp – but this resulted in ‘crackly’ bags that might put off customers. The Leicester-based company now hopes that bags made of starch waste from […]
New range of reference nanomaterials from LGC
LGC Standards has launched a range of reference nanomaterials to aid research and testing on the applications and impacts of nanotechnology. Widely regarded as one of the most important new technologies of the 21st century, nanotechnology has implications for many technological areas and industrial sectors, with nanomaterials now used in a range of applications. With […]
Business news, Food safety, New products, Regulatory, Sustainability